Cincinnati Customs finds guns with serial numbers filed off in shipment labeled as auto parts

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati found three handguns and seven ammunition magazines after opening a shipment labeled as automotive parts.

The officers became suspicious when an X-ray on Oct. 16 revealed abnormalities in the shipment, according to a CBP press release.

There were auto parts in the shipment in addition to guns with the serial numbers filed off and the magazines, CBP said.

CBP said no ammunition was found in the shipment, which came from a resident of North Carolina and was bound for an individual in Barbados.

“Our officers are very familiar with the many ways smugglers try to evade inspection,” Cincinnati Port Director Richard Gillespie said in the release.

“A concern is that these parcels were mis-manifested, which is a tactic smugglers use when a shipment is going to be used for nefarious activities.”